A review by lezreadalot
At Your Most Beautiful by Harper Bliss

4.0

Maya would be equally exquisite in the city. She could easily eclipse the most breath-taking places in the world.

3.5 stars. This was just missing a teensy bit more of what I needed to make it a truly effective romance, but it also succeeded in so many other ways, making this such a charming read. Bliss can be pretty hit or miss for me, and this has happily landed squarely in the 'hit' pile. It's an age-gap romance between Maya, an older divorcee, and Quinn, the daughter of her next door neighbours.

I really liked where this began and where it took us. It's a 'one-night-stand turns into something more' sort of romance, but they don't see each other for ten entire years after their night together, so it's also a second chance. Quinn is confident and flirty during their first time, while Maya is vastly more reserved and hesitant, given how much older she is and the fact that she's never before been attracted to a woman. The seduction ended up feeling just right for me; just enough pushing on Quinn's part, and when Maya capitulates, it feels joyful and natural. Just like it feels natural that she's later determined to never see Quinn and never speak of that night again, even though they were both so moved by it. What I like best about this is that when they meet again years later, they're both living their lives and moving on, even though they think of each other often. Quinn has had several relationships, has genuinely fallen in (and out) of love in the intervening time. Maya has a fulfilling family life with her son and grandson, and is actively trying to date other women. So the fact that they still come back together and feel this irresistible pull to each other is way more compelling to me than if they'd pined for each other for ten years. They come back into each other's lives and it's clear that absolutely no one else will do. So I loved that about it, and the slow, halting journey they took towards being together. Sometimes I read an age-gap and I can't fathom how these two people will last, but Maya and Quinn had genuine chemistry that I really liked.

I really do wish that the time span in the present-day period had been longer, though. It would have definitely felt more impactful then. I wanted to see more of them building a foundation, since this is the first time they're actually getting to know each other in a romantic sense, and not just as neighbours with a huge age gap. Really liked the way the third act played out, even though it felt like the tension got resolved a bit too quickly. I didn't love everything about the writing, and there were a few word choices that had me squinting. (I want someone to sit me down and explain exactly what they mean when they say 'post woke'.)

Listened to the audiobook as read by Angela Dawe. I've been listening to a fair amount of her books lately, and I don't feel burnt out at all. She just performs so well, without being too dramatic or overdone. Her Maya voice is one of my favourites in her repertoire. And this is one of those cases where the narration really elevated the text; I might not have given this such a high rating, if I'd read it physically. I do appreciate Bliss's books, because even though she revisits certain themes and topics a lot, like age-gaps, her books always have enough originality, and enough of a down-to-earth charm amidst the taboo, and that often makes me really like them.

“You remembered.”
“Some things are impossible to forget.”